The Morning After: Providence Friars

Georgetown Hoyas lose to Providence Friars 70-52
One of the keys to victory I provided in my game preview was that Georgetown needed to take care of the basketball as they struggled to do in their win against St. John’s when they gave the ball away 18 times. Last night, Georgetown wasn’t much better in this category as they finished the game with 15 turnovers compared to only 7 assists. The turnover bug is becoming a major issue as the Hoyas have given the ball away 49 times in their first three Big East games giving them 16 more turnovers than assists in league play. John Thompson III characterized his team as “fortunate” that they were able to overcome the large number of turnovers against St. John’s in their win at Verizon Center this past Saturday. The Hoyas were much less fortunate in their game against the Friars last night as turnovers and sloppy play seemed to doom them from the start.

Georgetown vs. Providence: Without starting center Joshua Smith, Hoyas fall short - The Washington Post
In losing to the Friars (11-5, 1-2) for the first time since 2005, Georgetown scored its fewest points this season. The Hoyas shot a shade below 40 percent, committed 15 turnovers and had their starting front court of Nate Lubick and Moses Ayegba combine for six points in 49 minutes to begin a season-high three-game road swing.

Friars Journal: A lesson in perspective after fire at Cooley's home | Sports - Pro, College & High School coverage | Providence Journal
The Hoya attack was diminished by the absence of center Joshua Smith. The 6-foot-10, 350-pound man/mountain is a transfer from UCLA who has given Georgetown a major force in the lane throughout the season’s first 13 games as he averaged 11.5 points and 3.4 rebounds. He rarely leaves the lane area and was leading the Big East in field-goal shooting at 65 percent.

PC runs past Georgetown, 70-52 | Sports - Pro, College & High School coverage | Providence Journal
“The team we had in our locker room was more than capable of playing better than we did tonight,” said Hoya coach John Thompson III. “We were kind of stumbling along in the first half and then they slowly gained confidence. We came up against a team that’s had some bad breaks, and they came out and made the plays and we didn’t.”

G L I D E H O Y A S: My thoughts on the Hoyas' first Big East road loss of the season
I just would've love to see Starks distribute the ball better. If Josh Smith doesn't play, this is something he'll have to do to make his team better especially his other bigs. He must encourage them when they get the ball to go to work. I think DSR can do a better job as this as well, and he has also needs to develop a "floater." There are many times when our guards are penetrating too deep in the paint. There are bigs down there, so the best way to defeat this purpose is to shoot a floater or dish the ball to your bigs. You have to, you have no other choice.